Catherine Rawn

Over the weekend I finalized and sent to the printers my syllabi for Psyc 217 (Research Methods), sections 1 (MWF at 10) and 901 (Tues 7-10). There have been a few changes from last year, including the addition of a poster session involving all six sections of psych 217. I’m very much looking forward to it! If you’re in one of my classes: Welcome!

Wow, I feel like I’m in full gear now preparing for the new year. The end of August is always such a bittersweet time. Summer was a fabulous mix of fun, relaxation, and enough accomplishments to feel good but not overwhelmed. I’ll miss it! But I’m also looking forward excitedly for September. New students, new classrooms, new challenges lay ahead!

Here’s my latest accomplishment: My finalized Intro Psych 100 Section 6 syllabus. Check it out!

Check it out!

http://www.ubc.ca/ 

That’s me up first! Here’s the story. Thanks to my student Jeremy Butt for providing his perspective on the course, Basil Waugh, the story writer, and Martin Dee, the photographer.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the course, last year’s syllabus can be found here. Based on feedback from last year’s students I have some changes in the works, but you can get the idea from there. If you’re interested in registering in the course, note that only my section (section 2, offered in January 2011) has this content because it’s a “special topics” course. The course is currently full, but there is always some shuffling at the start of term. Hope to see you in class!

Food for thought: In my research methods course last year (Psyc 217 Section 8, January 2010), participation points were highly correlated with final grades (excluding participation points or HSP credits, r = .48). In other words, almost a quarter of the variance in my students’ performance on exams and papers was predictable by their participation scores (r squared = .23). Participation was primarily determined by i>clicker scores, as well as verbal classroom participation. One way to interpret this finding is that my learning assessments (writing assignments, exams) rely on much of the same sort of active engagement for success as class participation does. We must be careful not to infer causation, but an interesting finding nonetheless.